Answers to questions I didn't ask

I was reading my scriptures yesterday and as per my new way of doing things I started with a prayer asking for direction in some very specific topics. I began with the Book of Mormon, sharing some time with Nephi and his family in 1 Nephi. (Nephi always amazes me with how courageous he is with is testimony).

I then turned to the 2016 General Conference talks. I have chosen to read through all of them prior to the upcoming conference in April. Carol F. McConkie  was the talk for today.

She began with the statement "Men ought to always pray and not faith". 

She went on to talk about how to pray to our Father in Heaven.

• We pray to our Father in Heaven-He will console you in your afflictions and ye may feast upon His love. 
• We pray in the name of Jesus Christ-Because our salvation is in Christ, only through Him are we saved. He is our advocate with the Father. 
• We pray by the power of the Holy Ghost. D&C 46:30

It is important to know how to receive answers to our prayer-What is God's intention, what is His will concerning me?  D&C 101:16-Be still and know that I am God. 

Sincere desires offered in a spirit of gratitude for abundant blessings and gratitude for the lessons of life instill in our hearts steadfast faith in Christ, a “brightness of HOPE, and a love of God and of all men". 

Prayer is a GIFT from God-It is precious time with out Father in Heaven,

When I finished this talk and reviewed my notes I was at first a little disappointed, I closed my study with prayer and began to go about my day. 

Then this thought intruded on my mind. 

"Where were you when you prayed? Where was your mind?" 

I had an image come to me of a child talking to their parent. The parent was multi-tasking while the child talked. She claimed "I am listening I hear you." But the child recognized that she wasn't really listening, not with sincerity, patience and focused attention on her. 

I realized then that God had answered me. He just answered a question I had not asked. 

How can I receive the answers I am seeking? 

The answer was I need to listen better.....

Keep some room in your heart for the unimaginable.

HOPE

Keep some room in your heart for the unimaginable. 

This month I chose HOPE for my theme. I am normally known as a positive person. In fact it drives my children crazy. They would come to me with their frustrations and I would start to point out all the positives. They did not like that. 

March is a month of HOPE. We see the seasons change, the blossoms begin to appear, Spring is on the doorstep. We feel it in the air. 

I know when I get in a dark place, I fight to get out. I can't breathe there. HOPE is what gets me out of bed in the morning, helps me take that first step each day. It is what allows me to close my eyes at night. HOPE is what makes each trial bearable. 

HOPE leads to faith, which leads to humility. We will receive the Holy Ghost (the comforter)  who will fill us with HOPE and that will lead to charity the pure love of Christ. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. 

When I find myself loosing hope, Despair takes its place. For me despair

has no place in my life.

2 Nephi 31:20

Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life. 

HOPE shineth brightly before us.....it is what guides my path each day. 

To Practice Art

In

I inherited a love of keeping my hands busy from a mother and grandmother who both loved to create. I am not a seamstress, or a person who loves to crochet or knit as they both are so in my search for my niche I found pyrography. I soon began my new adventure with an inexpensive burning tool and a scrap piece of wood. I realized this was not enough for me, I purchased a better tool, found the right types of wood and watched as my efforts were rewarded. Seeing the images come to life under the tip of a burning tool is an amazing thing, even better than when using a pencil. 

I love the possibilities pyrography offers, from simple words to complex images. (www.mywoodburndesigns.com)

But even with this I still have to stretch my skills. I draw, use clay, and chalk. I work with leather both in stitching Journals and burning patterns. I am learning to use my wood lathe to make bowls.
I am have joined a photography club (veiwbug) that has various contests and challenges that I can participate in. It also provides instruction on how to improve. Not that I need another hobby, but the need to create is often overwhelming for me, and when I follow the prompting to try something new I am often rewarded with an amazing sense of accomplishment. 

And of course there is my camera. 

Taking pictures is an amazing way to stretch my creative juices, comparing to other photographers only increases my desire to learn more. 

I see my desire and ability to create a gift from God, whether as a mother or a woman or just because it is a divine gift I am grateful. 

What does it mean to be happy?

What does it mean to be Happy? 

I found these two quotes and seemed to connect to them both.

“Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you”
– Nathaniel Hawthorne

"Happiness is the base state of being human. Happiness is what is left when you detach yourself from your desires, when you let go of all the clutter in your mind, when you just simply ‘be’ without any pretense or expectations. Happiness is being able to stay in this state, even while you are pursuing those desires, even when your mind is cluttered, because you know that you are not those desires or thoughts, but something greater and beyond those things."

I know that being happy is a choice, a decision we make each day. It does not come easily it is something you have to strive for, and once you get it often you have to fight to keep it. There is much to be grateful in this world, and yet it is easy to be displeased, unsatisfied, and disgruntled about the way things are going...


Remember to stop and smell the roses once in awhile and choose to find happiness in what you have.... 

A walk down memory lane...Remember when?

Just some thoughts that came to my mind this week....remembering times that were so much more simple.....

What is better than a new coloring book? A new box of crayons to go with it! :)

I remember when a new box of crayons came with 64 colors. Now you can get a crayon tower with 150 colors of you very own :)

One of my favorite lines in a movie is from Peter Pan with Robin Williams when they all say 

"I believe in fairies... I DO! I DO" 

As a child I loved Peter Pan, and the idea of fairies. Fairy rings and mystical gardens....I planted one of my own last summer. I hope it has magic enough to draw fairies to it!

Went to the zoo one day last year, despite the rain. Saw this little girl with an umbrella twice her size happily skipping down the path. Made me remember that rain was to be caught on your tongue, puddles were to splashed in and, rainbows were to be hoped for.....

Bucket List

To be continued...

Go to Ireland with my husband
Travel to Denmark for genealogy
Drive across the United States
See the 911 site
Get my Associates Degree
Get a Bachelors Degree (in something)
Done! Run a mile
Run in a 5K
Do a Church History tour
Stand in the four corners area of the US
See Pompeii
Learn to paint
Run in a half marathon

Did you hear me?

So I wanted to be heard today. I had the words all planned out in advance, clear, specific and to the point so I could not be mistaken. I thought that once it was all said and done I would feel at peace, like the answers would just come to me once it was all out in the open.
.....................
....................still waiting..................

Seems I wasn't clear enough...or maybe I said it the wrong way, or maybe I didn't ask the right questions? Or maybe......I wasn't listening myself.